Spotlight

On Oct. 17 in Zuccotti Park, the protesters ate cake. Occupy Wall Street was one month old. Over the previous 30 days, protesters had annexed a park near the New York Stock Exchange, held marches, fended off eviction, spurred similar protests around the country and set up a leaderless minisociety. Working groups run everything from meals to sanitation. At night, the general assembly draws about 1,000 people to decide major issues like how to allocate funding. A strong objection from any one person can nix a proposal. That has made reaching consensus tough. Occupy Wall Street has...